Feb.

26, 2007

Dryden Flight Research Center

P.O. Box 273
Edwards, California 93523
Phone 661/276-3449

Alan Brown
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Phone: 661/276-2665
alan.brown@nasa.govRELEASE: 07-09

PATHFINDER-PLUS SOLAR AIRCRAFT LANDS IN SMITHSONIAN

WASHINGTON – Pathfinder-Plus, the pioneering solar-electric

flying wing that set several altitude records for propeller-driven
aircraft under NASA sponsorship, has become the fourth innovation of
its developer, AeroVironment, Inc., to be acquired for the permanent
collection of the Smithsonian Institution.

The ultra-lightweight flying wing was enshrined in the National Air

and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport in
suburban Virginia in late January, and is now prominently displayed
for public viewing among the center's fleet of famed aerospace craft.

The original Pathfinder all-electric aircraft made its first flight on

battery power in 1983, and was later upgraded with solar cell arrays
to enable it to fly on the power of the sun. Its successor
configuration, Pathfinder-Plus, went on to establish several flying
records, including soaring to a world altitude record for
propeller-powered aircraft of more than 80,000 feet in 1998.

"The Pathfinder / Pathfinder-Plus peeled back some of the veils of

flight and explored new regimes," said John Del Frate of NASA's
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB, Calif., who managed most
of the NASA-supported flight research projects.

"The Pathfinder lived up to its name by gently plying its way to

record-setting altitudes – and those records speak for
themselves," he added. "The aircraft didn't do it all by itself. It
only represented the efforts of a small, dedicated team that was
given the opportunity and the resources to make it happen."

Pathfinder Plus' record-setting development and test flights led the

way for its successor, Helios, and for AeroVironment's next
generation of stratospheric unmanned aircraft systems, the Global
Observer, currently in development.

"The learning and technology developed from Pathfinder and

Pathfinder-Plus' successful missions have been invaluable toward the
continuing development of Global Observer, which we believe
represents the future of stratospheric flight," said Tim Conver,
president and chief executive officer of AeroVironment. "Innovation
drives our business, and the installation of Pathfinder-Plus in the
National Air and Space Museum, alongside some of the most storied
aircraft in aviation history, will enable the public to share in this
innovative aircraft's history."

Pathfinder was first developed for a classified government program in

the early 1980's to develop a high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft
for surveillance purposes. Known as HALSOL (for High-ALtitude SOLar)
aircraft, it was first powered by batteries. After that project was
cancelled, the aircraft was stored for 10 years before being
resurrected for a brief program under the auspices of the Ballistic
Missile Defense Organization in 1993. With the addition of small
solar arrays, five low-altitude checkout flights were flown under the
BMDO program at NASA Dryden in the fall of 1993 and early 1994 on a
combination of solar and battery power.

Pathfinder was adopted by NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and

Sensor Technology (ERAST) program in 1994 to assist in the
development of unmanned aerial research platforms for the
stratosphere. With the addition of solar cell arrays across most of
its upper wing surface, Pathfinder flew to 50,567 feet near Edwards
AFB in 1995 on solar power, its first trip to the stratosphere. It
then flew to 71,500 feet in 1997 while performing a series of
high-altitude science missions over the Hawaiian Islands.

In 1998, Pathfinder was upgraded to become Pathfinder-Plus, with a new

center wing panel that increased the wingspan from 99 feet to 121
feet. Pathfinder-Plus was fitted with new high-efficiency solar cells
on its center wing panel and other improvements that enabled it to
set anther altitude record of 80,201 feet for propeller-driven
aircraft in August 1998.

The upgraded solar and control system technology validated in the

Pathfinder-Plus led to development of the Helios, which set the
current world altitude record for propeller-driven aircraft in level
flight of 96,863 feet near the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i in 2001.
During the summer of 2002, the Pathfinder-Plus flew several
demonstration missions over Hawaii to confirm the practical utility
of high-flying, remotely piloted, environmentally friendly solar
aircraft for commercial purposes, emphasizing its capabilities as a
relay platform for telecommunications and aerial surveillance of
crops. Pathfinder-Plus' final mission in September 2005 saw the
featherweight craft perform atmospheric turbulence measurements at
Edwards AFB under the auspices of NASA Dryden.

"Those of us on the NASA / AeroVironment team will always consider

ourselves to be privileged to have been allowed to explore some of
those "veiled" regimes with the Pathfinder," Del Frate reflected. "
We are honored that the vehicle now "flies" in the company of other
great aircraft at the National Air and Space Museum."

Other innovations of Monrovia, Calif.-based AeroVironment or its

founder, Dr. Paul MacCready, that are in the permanent collection of
the Smithsonian include the Gossamer Condor, Gossamer Albatross,
Solar Challenger and Quetzalcoatlus Northropi replica Pterosaur
aircraft and the Sunraycer solar race car developed for General
Motors.

The National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

displays among its artifacts the larger icons in the museum's
collection, including a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the space shuttle
prototype Enterprise, a Concorde and the "Dash 80" Boeing 707
prototype, along with thousands of other smaller items. The center is
open daily.

PHOTO EDITORS: High-resolution photos to support this release are

available electronically on the NASA Dryden web site at:
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/Pathfinder-Plus/index.html.

For more information about NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and its
research projects, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden. For
more on AeroVironment, visit: www.avinc.com/about_overview.php or
contact Steven Gitlin at 626-357-9983, or by e-mail at
gitlin@avinc.com.

For more on the National Air and Space Museum, contact Peter Golkin at
202-633-2374, or by e-mail at Golkinp@si.edu.

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